Many people carry cellular telephones because of the convenience cellular telephones provide. Unfortunately, there are instances when a ringing cellular telephone disturbs people around the cellular telephone user. For example, a ringing cellular telephone can be disturbing in a meeting, presentation, library, theater, or any other quiet environment. In order to avoid creating a disturbance, cellular telephones are equipped with features that allow the user to change the telephone behavior by changing the ring volume, the ring type, or setting the ringer to a vibrate mode. However, these features are only activated when the user manually changes a setting on the cellular telephone. Because the user must manually change the setting, a cellular telephone equipped with these features will create a disturbance if the user forgets to make the change. Therefore, a need exists for a method for automatically changing the telephone behavior so that the cellular telephone will not create a disturbance when the user forgets to manually change one or more settings on a cellular telephone.
The prior art has previously addressed the problem of automatically changing the telephone behavior. For example, United States Patent Application Publication 2003/0134626 (the '626 application) entitled “Apparatus and Method for Managing Mobile Phone Answering Mode and Outgoing Message Based on a Location of the Mobile Phone” discloses a method for changing the telephone behavior based on the location of the cellular telephone. The '626 application invention determines the location of the cellular telephone and restricts the cellular telephone's operation based on the location. United States Patent Application Publication 2001/0049275 (the '275 application) entitled “Automated Alert State Change of User Devices for Time-Based and Location-Based Events” discloses a method for changing the telephone behavior based on the current event. The '275 application invention looks up the current event in the user's calendar and determines whether to modify the cellular telephone's behavior based on the current event. In yet another example, United States Patent Application Publication 2001/0014616 (the '616 application) entitled “Portable Mobile Unit” discloses a method for changing the behavior of a telephone based on the telephone number associated with the party placing the incoming call. The '616 application invention determines the telephone number associated with an incoming call and modifies the behavior based on the telephone number. Thus, based on the disclosures of the '626, '275, and '616 applications, the current art allows the user to automatically change the telephone behavior based on one of a plurality of conditions, such as the location of the telephone, the user's calendared events, and telephone number associated with the incoming call.
In many circumstances, changing the telephone behavior based on a single condition is insufficient control over the behavior to the cellular telephone. For example, if the user is in a movie theatre, it is acceptable to let the cellular telephone ring before the movie, but not during the movie. Similarly, if the user is on a golf course, it is acceptable to let the cellular telephone ring while the user is in the parking lot or clubhouse, but it is not acceptable to let the cellular telephone ring while the user is on the tee boxes, fairways, or greens. In another example, a user may not want a cellular telephone to ring while the user is in a meeting unless the call is from an important client. In addition, a user may not want the cellular telephone to ring if the incoming call is from the user's wife, but the user might want the cellular telephone to ring if the user's wife called a plurality of times within a short time period. The user might want the cellular telephone to ring in that case because a plurality of telephone calls within a short amount of time usually indicates an emergency. While the prior art discloses changing the telephone behavior based on a single condition, the prior art does not disclose a method for modifying the telephone behavior based upon a plurality of different conditions. Consequently, a need exists in the art for a method for modifying the telephone behavior based upon a plurality of conditions, such as the location of the telephone, the user's calendared events, and telephone number associated with the incoming call.
Modifying the telephone behavior based upon a plurality of conditions creates a need for conflict resolution when the telephone behavior outcomes conflict. For example, the condition criteria “if A then B; but if not A, then C” defines two outcomes: B and C. Similarly, the condition criteria “if D then B; but if not D, then C” also defines two outcomes: B and C. When the two condition criteria are combined, it is possible for the determination of the outcome to be uncertain because the outcomes conflict with each other. In the preceding example, no conflict arises when both A and D are true or when both A and D are false. However, a conflict arises when either A or D is true and the other is false. When the outcomes conflict with one another, it is necessary to create a method for resolving the conflict. Consequently, a need exists in the art for a method for resolving the outcome conflicts that arise when modifying the telephone behavior based upon a plurality of conditions.